What's the most appropriate response to Wooster being the second-to-last team to make the NT field of 64?

A deep exhale and overwhelming reliefA sincere thank you shout out to the teams that boosted Wooster's strength of schedule numberExcited fist pumps and high-fives all aroundBacon sandwichesGrinning smugly while reviewing bullman's pre-season NT projections that didn't include WoosterBOO-YAH!!!!! PUT THAT IN YOUR PROJECTION SPREADSHEET AND SMOKE IT!!!!!!

It was all a ploy. I am a HUGE Wooster fan and knew that an NT bid was touch and go, so I purposefully lowered your rating to keep you out of the projection spreadsheet, hoping that the extra motivation this provided would be enough to put you over the top.

It's really hard to pick anyone but J&W or Piedmont to win this whole thing.... that said, it seems like lately there has always been an upset when the likely winner is so "obvious." We are probably due for someone to run the table, so maybe Piedmont will handle the pressure.

I have not studied any team very well - except my own. I am glad to make a number 1 seed, but I certainly don't feel I'll escape to the final four. I like Greensboro's chances. No way do I see my team having the horses to win it all...

The University was very interesting this year. I think the best team is Ozarks.... and the team I think has the best chance to win it all from our conference. Interestingly this will be Spike's (coach of Ozarks) last season in Rupp as well . I'm hoping he goes out on top and really like his chances given his oh-so-close game vs. Piedmont earlier this year.....

Don't have the ability to go game-by-game this morning since they're trying to fit an entire school day in two fewer hours today, but here's what I saw...at a glance.

Piedmont and Johnson & Wales each blew out their opening round opponents. J-Dub put up 115, which was paltry compared to the 120 hung on the board by Piedmot.

In the Midwest, the 6 and 7 seeds went down, with Buena Vista making some big noise by holding a Rivier team that I thought could make a run to just 48 points.

In the East there was really nothing to see as the top eight seeds all advanced. I'm sure there were some nervous moments or interesting finishes in there, but the bracket went as drawn into Round 2.

The South region had the most interesting night. St. Joe's, the 14 seed, unceremoniously dumped Wittenberg. No word from WSAA powers-that-be on rumors that a Wooster school official was seen lingering around the gymnasium. John Carroll also had a good night nocking out what I thought would be a testy Whitworth squad.

In the West, all teh principle members moved forward with just the 8-9 coinflip game coming out different from planned.

The regional championship games are set and we have four excellent pairings on tap. That's because, miraculosly, the 1 and 2 seeds advanced in three of the four regions!! There are no Cinderella stories to be had here now that 14 seed St. Joe's has been bounced.

Midewest region -- Piedmont (32-0) vs. Emory (25-7)

If I was a television executive, I'd be eating this game up for the ratings value. In this corner, the undefeated, undisputed number one team almost wire-to-wire this year in the nation in Piedmont. They've decimated the competition this tournament like Iron Mike laid waste to the heavyweight division in his prime. Piedmont's three national tournament victories have come by an average of -- get this -- almost 37 points PER GAME. You're not supposed to be able to cruise control your way into the Elite Eight. That's just not right. But in the other corner, coming off a successful title defense, we have the two-time national champion in Emory. Is there enough left in the tank to go for a threepeat? Does the train of postseason success end tonight? Can Emory avenge a 17 point loss on the road to Piedmont in the final week of non-conference play? I'm telling you, this is ratings gold! Note to phalla -- remember...with a baseball bat...while he sleeps...

East Region -- Ozarks (27-4) vs. Susquehanna (30-2)

Okay, while it doesn't have the title fight throwdown potential of the Midwest, this is a solid game in its own right. This is, according to rumor, spike's swan song at Ozarks (say it ain't so spike!). Susquehanna is led by one of the, in my opinion at least, best coaches to be found in the Rupp world as zeuspole has his team seemingly in contention. Every. Single. Season. This will probably be more of a blue-collar working man's basketball game with possessions coming at a premium. That doesn't mean I expect them both to take the air out fo the basketball. Just that I don't see either team opening a huge lead on the scoreboard at any point in this contest. One last bit of trivia here in the East Region -- the whole bracket has played out EXACTLY as it was seeded to this point with 1-8 winning opening night, 1-4 making it through night two and now 1-2 still alive and kicking. You just don't see that happen very often and it has to give spike some good karma going for tongiht.

South region -- Johnson & Wales (30-2) vs. Dallas (25-6)

Something has got to give. Dallas, who I clearly did not give enough creidt to, has not allowed a tournament opponent to score in the 60s through the first three rounds. Now, here come those spider monkeys of J-Dub, who haven't been held under 77 points thus far. It's that classic case of defense vs. offense and the clash of styles should make this one a ton of fun. They say defense wins championships, y'know. But then again, according to Mel, the cook on Alice, the best dee-fense is a good oooo-fense. Guess we'll find out who is correct.

West region -- Millsaps (28-4) vs. Penn St. Altoona (28-4)

The second rematch game of the regional finals. Penn St. Altoona captured a one-point victory over Millsaps on night 9 of the non-conference campaign to set the story line for this game tongiht. This is also the only contest that does not feature the 1 and 2 seeds on the bracket playing each other -- Penn St. Altoona was actually a six seed and needed overtime to knock off the 2 seed Greensboro to reach this stage. Obviously, both of these coaches have been here before. We really do have a hall of fame cast of eight still around.

One last plot line of interest tonight. In case folks didn't notice, the University has the potential to close out the Final Four. Is there any doubt the mantle of Rupp's Evil Empire has shifted away from the GNE? It will be interesting to see how many University squads, if any, make it through tonight to arrive on stage at the Final Four.

Interestingly enough, this is kind of how I feel about University this year --- some really, really good teams. But it would not surprise me if we lose 3/4 of these games. A strong case could be made that Ozarks is the only obvious (??) favorite. I think Millsaps has the next best chance to break thru.... unfortunately for Dallas and Emory - they have been tasked with taking down the all-season-long top teams... Good Luck to everyone!

Wow, so much for the drama of the regional finals. All the 1 seeds advance to the Final Four -- we didn't need this stinking tournament! -- and all of the game were by double-digit margins. Piedmont remains unbeaten and on autopilot as bunkerbuster crushes the reign of phalla and Emory. I'm starting to get UNLV flashbacks here watching Piedmont play. But now he gets Ozarks, the only team to stay within single digits of him this season, so maybe there's drama ahead. Ozarks was in a game at the half, but unleashed a "did anyone get the license number of that truck" moment on Susquehanna over the final 20 minutes to win going away. J-Dub marshalled through its game with Dallas, which did succeed in slowing JW to only 73 points in the contest. And Millsaps overwhelmingly avenged a one-point defeat in the regular season to give brianxavier a big W over Penn St. Altoona.

rednu, I'm afraid it is. This will be my last season in Rupp for at least awhile. I've enjoyed it though! This world has been the most fun out of all of them for me. You, pseudochamp, bullman and everyone else who has contributed to this forum really make it entertaining! Excellent job by all of you! Thanks so much! If I'm ever able to get back into HD, this world will be the one I'll rejoin first. I'm hoping for a miracle against bunkerbuster tonight, so I can keep it going. He's put together quite a team there at Piedmont. But if not, getting to the final four on my last season isn't a bad way to go out. Good luck to you all in the future!